Dancing: The Rewrite
by the.words.of.a.heart
Summary: When we left off, I wasn't happy with how the story turned out. Therefor, I'm rewriting it. She had nothing to lose. He wanted to keep her safe, and she was alone. It was better than that, right? Only time could tell.
1. And How Was I To Know

_Chapter 1__  
And__ How Was I To Know_

_a/n__: So I wrote the original story over the span of a little more than a year. And guys, I realized that that story took a very different turn than I ever intended it to do. The story was supposed to progress __differently__ with a MUCH different ending. Fortunately, I still have the story maps here (In this mess I call a bedroom somewhere) I just have to hunt it down. In the mean time, there will be no prologue for this story. Instead, I'm delving right in. enjoy._

Jude looked around the floor of the washroom she was currently sitting on. Tommy had been gone for nearly two months, but G Major was still buzzing away with its normalcy. On a normal day she would have been glad, but she had never been sick like this before, and it was starting to scare her. She'd never seen herself as the one who got dramatically sick. She only got sick a few times a year, and they were ususallyusually chest colds. The fact that she was feeling like this, just wasn't didn't seem to be right to her. The knock on the bathroom door made her jump, and she placed a hand on her chest as she stood up and walked to the door. She unlocked and opened it,it; letting in the Instant Star contestant thathat t she had apparently locked out. She made a quick apology before exiting the room and walking back to the studio. She happened to bump into Sadie along the way, who pointed out that she looked a bit pale, but she shrugged it off, not caring. Her life hadn't been the same since Tommy had taken off.

Stepping into the studio, she gave Kwest a small smile and then walked into the studio, closing the door behind her. He looked at her briefly through the glass. She looked depressed.,depressed, and pale. Like she'd been kicked in the stomach over something that wasn't her fault. He wanted to help her, but he didn't know what to say to her. "You ready to work, star?"Jude nodded, slipping on her headphones. In the two months Tommy had been gone she'd only written a handful of songs. Most of them either sucked or needed lots of work, but a few of them actually came out semi-good, and she received the go-ahead from Darius to record them. When Kwest was sure that she looked situated, he nodded to her and then gave her a countdown for her to start singing. The song started with the soft strumming of a banjo in the opposite room before Jude began singing along.

"And I'd give up forever to touch you,  
Cause I know that you feel me somehow.  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be,  
And I don't want to go home right now.

And all I can taste is this moment,  
And all I can breathe is your life,  
And sooner or later it's over,  
I just don't want to miss you tonight.

And I don't want the world to see me,  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand.  
When everything's made to be broken,  
I just want you to know who I am.

And you cant fight the tears that ain't coming,  
Or the moment of the truth in your lies.  
When everything feels like the movies,  
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive.

And I don't want the world to see me,  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand.  
When everything's made to be broken,  
I just want you to know who I am.

And I don't want the world to see me,  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand.  
When everything's made to be broken,  
I just want you to know who I am.

And I don't want the world to see me,  
Cause I dont think that they'd understand.  
When everything's made to be broken,  
I just want you to know who I am.  
I just want you to know who I am.  
I just want you to know who I am.  
I just want you to know who I am."

Kwest clapped from the sound booth with a big smile on his face, which, though Jude could try and fight it, it brought a smile to her own face. Finally she'd done something right in the last few months. She loved this song. Yes, it was about the life of cutting, but it wasn't about her. The little girl she'd met at the elementary school the year before had written her a letter, telling her she wanted to leave her life, and Jude had gone to see her, only to find out that that little girl ,girl, a mere 11 year old, had started cutting herself; Which only left Jude to wonder where her own once youthful generation was now headed. Teen pregnancies, drugs, death, rape…It seemed to be everywhere these days. ; Like it never ends. She exited the studio and walked over to where Kwest was seated and sat down next to him. He smiled and finished mixing the track before pulling it out of the player and handing it to her. She smiled at him and sighed. "God, I love this song…."He nodded. "You did well on it, Star. You deserve a medal or something for it."Jude giggled and nodded, thanking him. "That's really sweet.He nodded and smiled, standing up. "Shall we go play it for the warden?"

Jude nodded and ran a hand through her hair. Even though he was her boss, she had no problem admitting that she hated listening to him critique her music. He always had such a big deal with the smallest errors, and that drove her nuts. She stood up and walked out of the room with Kwest, walking down the hall to Darius' office. Kwest knocked once before Darius called for them to enter. They walked in quietly and sat down in their respective spots. Darius looked at the two for a moment before he took the CD from Kwest and put the CD into the computer, waiting for it to load. When it had, he played it once before taking it back out and handing it back to Jude.

"So,…what'd you think?" Jude spoke tentatively, not able to read Darius' opinion of the song. He simply shrugged."Its good. Not your best though….Seems a bit…morbid…." He spoke truthfully. And maybe the song was a little morbid. But that didn't mean that Jude agreed with him.

"Morbid? An eleven year old told me she wanted to kill herself! I don't call that morbid. I call that a crisis. I wrote a song about her to show her that she's not alone. None of my fans are. If I could, I'd try and be there for all of them. But there's too many." She sighed and looked over at Kwest biting her bottom lip. "I'm sorry. I have to go. I can't fight about this…"Kwest nodded and Jude stormed from the office, out into the lobby where Sadie was organizing files. She leaned against the counter, pouting. "Darius didn't like my new song…"Sadie looked up at her and frowned slightly. "Darius doesn't ever like anything that one of his slaves hasn't written about. He likes happy go lucky power ballads and sappy love songs. Someone even goes near the subject of suicide, and he scrounges into a corner. You know what I mean?"Jude nodded. "Yeah…Well…" Sadie looked up, pointing behind Jude. "New artist alert."Jude turned around, seeing three girls and a guy enter the building. They all looked to know each other and about the same age. Jude sighed and walked over to them, extending her hand. "Hi, I'm Jude Harrison. I'm a G Major Artist."The first girl turned Jude immediately and smiled, shaking her hand. "Haley. This is Brooke, and Peyton….We just signed with your boss a few days ago….Is he busy?"Jude nodded, turning to see that the door was still shut. "Yeah, he's in with my producer right now…" She looked at the blonde man behind Haley and couldn't help but smile. He was definitely good looking. Haley noticed Jude's staring and couldn't help but giggle.

"That's my brother, Chris. He's going to be producing us…" She smiled, placing a hand on her hip. Jude nodded, continuing to look at him. She'd have to get his number later.

Kwest finally exited the Throne Room, and Darius walked out, waving for the four to come on in. Jude looked over to Kwest and smiled, mouth a thank you to him. He waved her off, telling her not to worry about it before going over to Sadie and talking to her. Jude took one final glance around the room before she sighed and grabbed her bag and then walked out of the building. She walked down the street, not really caring to drive. She had a doctors appointment across town in 10 minutes, so it would have been logical for her to drive, but she didn't necessarily want to, so instead she walked. After a block or so though, she began to grow lazy, and hailed a cab and got in, telling the driver where to take her.

When they pulled up to the hospital, she paid the driver and then got out of the car, walking into the building and checking in. Less than 5 minutes later, her doctor came out and took her back and into an exam room. She spoke briefly with the nurse before she left to find Jude's doctor. Jude settled back on the bed before there was a knock at the door. She looked up and smiled. "Bren, you made it…" She smiled, sliding off the bed. She hugged the man and smiled before walking back to the bed and sitting down. He walked over next to her, taking her hand. "Well, anything to help, right?"Jude nodded and smiled, settling again as her doctor knocked twice lightly before opening the door and walking in. Jude smiled and waved to her silently, seeing the small machine she'd brought in with her. Jude bit her bottom lip, looking up at Brendan. "This is really real..Wow…"Her doctor laughed softly, lifting Jude's shirt and squirting a small amount of clear jelly onto it before slowly moving the paddle across her stomach until a constant beating came into sync. Jude let out a loud sigh of relief, allowing herself to rest fully back against the bed. Her doctor smiled and shook her head. "Don't stress so much. You'll make her job harder…"Jude's head popped up at the sound of a girl. "Her? It's a girl?"Her doctor's smile slipped a little, slightly apologetic. "I'm sorry. I should have asked if you wanted to know before I let that spill…It just came out..."Jude shook her head as a small smile covered her face. "No, no. Don't be sorry…I just…wow…Its really real."Her doctor nodded and smiled. "Yeah, it is. It's amazing too…every time…"Jude smiled and reached out, touching the monitor. Her baby girl was kicking wildly inside of her, and she could feel it, yet….She hadn't told anyone around her yet. Her parents were both out of town indefinitely, Sadie was caught up in her own life with Kwest, and Tommy was only god knows where, which essentially left her feeling alone. She let out a soft sigh of defeat as the stress of her current situation washed over her again, and looked around the room. She had so much to do, and in so little time."Jude? Earth to Jude?" She shook her head looking up that the blond man who had raped her 5 months before and gave him a slight smile. "Yeah. Um, lets, yeah. Let's go."She hopped down off the bed, taking the prescription her doctor handed her and then headed out of the doctors office, outside to Braden's car. The drive back to her place seemed slow, and quiet, mostly out of tension. In most ways, he had completely ruined her life. She didn't trust anyone around her, but she needed help. She wanted someone to be with her all the time, but she was too afraid to tell them why. Braden insisted he'd been drunk and it was a stupid thing to do, yet she remembered that he was slightly more sober than she was. She didn't know what to think anymore.

As the pulled up to her place, she quickly thanked him before getting out of the car, and then she practically ran inside. It was getting late. She needed to eat, write a song, and then get to bed if she was ever going to get to the studio on time the next morning. She walked into the kitchen and searched through takeout menus before giving up on that and heading up to her room. Maybe she just wouldn't eat tonight. She wouldn't die. She wasn't interested in any food they had in the house, and she didn't necessarily want to leave the house again. She just wanted to be settled in for the night and stay home. She grabbed her laptop and walked up to her room, sitting down on the bed with it. As she waited for it to load, she changed out of her current clothes, which consisted of a black vest with a vintage Rolling Stones shirt under it, and skinny jeans. As she watched them drop to the floor, tears threatened to fill her eyes. She'd struggled to even fit into them that morning, and it wouldn't be long before she was popping. She already had a slight bump, but she'd heard stories about girls who pretty much blew up over night because of the baby moving around. She shook her thoughts away and sat down on her bed, grabbing her laptop. She settled it in her lap and looked up pregnancy once again. It had pretty much become a nightly thing for her. Each night she'd read about the different things that were happening to the little soul growing inside of her, whether it had to do with the nervous system, or how quickly finger nails grew. She didn't really care. She wanted to know everything that she would need to know about her baby. She was pretty sure there was no chance that the baby would have any of the diseases listed, except for one. The mere thought of her baby having Cystic Fibrosis scared the hell out of her. She'd lost her brother to it 5 years earlier. He'd died when Jude was 12 and Sadie was 14 while having a lung transplant. The doctors had always told them that it was one of the worst cases of CF they'd ever seen and that he'd be lucky to live past 21. Sadly, he never made it to 18. He'd died at 16, and it was then that the Harrison parents really started fighting. Before that, the family of five had been happy and they got along great, but when Matthew died, the house pretty much fell to pieces. Sadie hadn't really taken much out of it, other than another open room in the house, which freed her and Jude from sharing one. '

On the flip side, it hit Jude hard. Matt knew any and every trick to calm Jude down. They connected largely with their father over their loves of music, and Jude was always spending time with Matt in and out of school. He never seemed to care that she was 4 years younger than him because they shared everything in common.She almost hated him for dying. He'd know what to say right now. He'd tell her how to fix the situation. He'd tell her to go to their parents, or to Sadie. To go to someone and tell them what had happened. He'd tell her that if Tommy didn't care about her, then it was his loss, because she was an amazing girl. He'd tell her anything to calm her down.She looked at the blank document on her computer and sighed, shaking her head. The lyrics for a song were hitting her like a bullet, but she didn't want to write a love song about Tommy. For once she just wanted to write something about the past. So she began to type.

"I saw you today  
And it seemed like another life  
Since we'd talked  
It seemed like a different day  
We spent time on the beach,  
Holding hands and talking about life  
When you left, I cried, but your promised,  
Tomorrow you would come by…

But then I woke up and I remember its not real  
You're not waking up,  
And you're not coming by  
You can't be here to hold me  
All I remember to do now is cry  
Why'd you have to die…  
I can't go on  
With you gone…

A marble stone is not enough  
To put together the man I knew  
It doesn't paint a picture of him  
Or remind me of happier times  
I've cried so long , my tears ran dry  
I can't remember the last time I smiled  
And sooner or later, we all pass by,  
But why'd you have to go without me by your side

Because today I woke up, and I remembered  
The dreams weren't real  
You're not waking up  
And you're not coming by  
You can't be here to hold me

All I remember to do now is cry  
Why'd you have to die  
I can't go on  
With you gone

I'm wide awake now  
You have to get up now  
I'm wide awake now,  
You have to show up now

I'm standing, shaking  
Don't leave me crying,  
I'm freezing, losing,  
Don't leave me dying…

(paino solo)  
Forgive me, I'm going back home  
This place isn't enough for me  
This isn't happiness, I was shown  
I'm surviving on shreds,  
And its not long before I fall  
My feet are slipping off the pedestal  
You've put me on…

Because today I woke up, and I remembered  
The dreams weren't real  
You're not waking up  
And you're not coming by  
You can't be here to hold me

All I remember to do now is cry  
Why'd you have to die  
I can't go on  
With you gone

(I'm wide awake now)  
(You have to get up now)  
(I'm wide awake now)  
(You have to show up now)  
(I'm wide awake now)  
(Don't let me die now…)"

After she finished the song, she saved it and then went on a hunt for people to talk to, but everyone on her messenger list appeared to be too busy to talk. Most people had up away messages, which only left her feeling even more alone, and the few people that were on and alert weren't really around to talk to. She had Dana's screen name, but she and Dana only got along when it came to her music, and cheerleading, which Jude had opted against doing this year after finding out she was pregnant. She groaned and shut her laptop, lying down in her bed. Before she realized it, she'd fallen asleep….

The next morning, she awoke and got up and quickly showered. As she slipped her towel around her, she realized it wouldn't' tuck in as it normally did and looked down. Her stomach looked as if someone had put a beach ball into it while she'd slept. Tears flooded her eyes as she raced out of the room in search of something in either Sadie or her fathers closet that could hide the obvious bump. If people knew, they'd kill her. Her parents, Sadie, Darius…Oh God, Darius...He'd have her head on a platter.

When she was done raiding Sadie's closet, she'd settled on a tank top that hung loosely on her, but she knew it was no use. She was definitely pregnant and her stomach had boomed over night, literally. Tears pierced her eyes again as she slipped on her sweater and then made her way out of the house. She made drive to G Major extra slow, partly because she didn't want to see the looks on peoples faces, and partly because the storm raging outside was bad enough that she couldn't see more than three feet in front of her. Finally, she pulled into the parking lot half an hour later with her laptop in hand. As she shut her car off, she pulled the hood to her sweater on and pulled the strings down so no one would notice her, atleast for a bit. She didn't want people knowing until she'd talked to Sadie and Darius. A thought struck her and she smiled slightly. Maybe if she held her laptop in front of her, no one would realize her stomach had popped out over night. She figured it was worth a shot, and opened the door when the rain managed to let up for a few seconds and hopped out, grabbing her laptop and holding it in front of her with her arms crossed over it as she ran inside.

The 30 feet from where she parked in the parking lot to the door was enough to get her soaked because by the time she got inside, she was dripping from head to toe. She quickly made her way into Studio A and shut the door behind her, pulling her laptop from its bag. She closed her eyes, thanking God in relief that her soaking bag had managed to keep her laptop dry. She grabbed the plug out of the bag and plugged it into the wall before setting it up on the soundboard. A knock came from the door while she was plugging it in and she spun around, having forgotten her current situation as Kwest stood before her with Sadie.

"Jude, oh my God…What…you…What's going on with you?" Sadie walked over to her, placing a hand on Jude' stomach. Jude bit her bottom lip as tears pierced her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sadie. I was afraid to tell anyone…"Sadie shook her head, lifting Jude's chin to look at her.

"Afraid to tell anyone what, Jude? What happened?"Jude looked down at the floor as tear pierced her eyes again and fell, rolling down her cheeks.

"When I went to Barrie….I got…" She shook her head, biting her bottom lip as tears ran faster down her cheeks.

"Oh, God. Jude. Oh my god…I'm so sorry…" She pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back and trying to calm her. Her 17 year old sister had been raped and was, what Sadie assumed at least 4 or 5 months pregnant. It almost amazed her that Jude had kept it a secret so long. After a few minutes, Sadie pulled away from her, and wiped her tears away. "I need to know how far into this pregnancy you are?"

Jude looked down at the floor and bit her bottom lip. "I went to the doctor yesterday. She said I was a little less than 5 months. Sadie, I can't have her on my own. I can't be a parent at 17. I'm still in high-school, I'm trying to write an album, I….Its too much…"

Sadie shook he head. "No. We're gonna talk to Darius and then we're gonna take you home, and then…" Sadie thought for a moment, biting her bottom lip. She looked over at Kwest who still looked to be in shock over what Jude had just blurted out.

Jude looked down at the floor, not wanting to be in any ones way. "Sadie, no, I think I'll just go home later. I'll talk to Darius in a bit. You don't need to come with me."

Sadie shook her head at Jude. She was insistent on taking care of her little sister. Jude needed her rest, and plenty of it."No, Jude. You need to rest. You need to put your feet up, write songs only if its not going to stress you. You need to worry about yourself and your baby. Okay?"

Jude nodded in defeat and looked at Kwest."Are you okay?"

He nodded, widening his eyes for a few seconds before he settled. "Yeah, sorry….That was just a bit of a curve ball, I guess. Not something you expect to hear out of your artist's mouth at 9 O'clock in the morning on a Saturday…"

Jude smiled slightly, biting her cheek. "Sorry, Kwest. Really, I am.."

He shrugged, shaking his head. "Don't be sorry, star. It'll sink in and then I won't look at you like you have two heads anymore," he teased.

She giggled and shook her head at him. "Okay."

Sadie nodded and grabbed Jude's arm. "Lets go talk to Darius, kay?"

Jude nodded, biting her bottom lip. Sadie linked her arm with Jude's and they walked into Darius' office with Kwest in tow. Sadie pushed the door open, not bothering to knock, as she didn't care what Darius had to say about them just barging in.

"Has everyone forgot the meaning of knocking!?" He glared at Sadie before looking at Jude. He mouth dropped and his eyes widened as if there were a tarantula on her face. "What….the…."

Jude looked to the floor, and Sadie shook her head, rubbing her forehead. "This isn't her fault. She didn't want to tell anyone because she was afraid. But it isn't her fault. Its something that happened to her."

Darius looked at Sadie as if she'd left a major part of the story out, which she had. "What, happened…"

Jude continued staring at the floor as tears filled her eyes again. "I was raped….5 months ago…"

"Why would you keep a secret that long!? Do you know what this is gonna do to our company? Your album sales are going to tank, the record executives are-" Sadie threw the newspaper on Darius' desk, shutting him up.

"She does NOT need your negativity telling her how much trouble she's in! This is why she wouldn't tell anyone what happened! She was scared of what would happen…"Darius sighed and nodded.

"Okay, okay, okay…Jude, I need to speak with your sister and Kwest. I saw that you met our new artists yesterday. Why don't you go get aquainted with them. You'll be working with Chris a lot in the next few months."

Jude sighed and nodded. She walked out of the room, and into Studio A where her laptop was still set up, but Haley, Brooke, Peyton and Chris were all setting up to record. Jude waved to them, settling on the chesterfield. Chris looked at her with a small smile. "Hi. Chris Keller."Jude nodded to him and smiled. "Not raiding my laptop, are you?"

He shook his head. "No. The girls and I were just discussing their new song."Jude nodded interestedly. "Anything I can do to help?"Haley smiled, sitting down next to Jude. "Sure. We'll sing it for you."

Chris nodded and turned to his own laptop, playing the back beats for the song. The girls soon joined in.

"I never feared the unexpected  
Till I found myself in this peculiar place  
Unaware of where I was headed  
Turns out it was your footsteps I had chased

Well I should know so much better than this  
But you've occupied the center of my universe

I'm moving in reverse  
Under your mighty curse  
I hate myself for loving you  
I turn my head away  
But my heart will remain  
Till the day I learn you're no good for me

It's illogical and it's outrageous  
The way I let you keep me hanging on  
Your character is that contagious  
I know I should have thought before I had done  
I've gone and let my impulse be my guide  
And on that note, I'll be defenseless for some time

I'm moving in reverse  
Under your mighty curse  
I hate myself for loving you  
I turn my head away  
But my heart will remain  
Till the day I learn you're no good for me

Hey you there, keep your distance  
Don't you come around here  
Don't test my patience baby  
Cause I ain't gonna let you off easy

I'm moving in reverse  
Under your mighty curse  
I hate myself for loving you  
I turn my head away  
But my heart will remain  
Till the day I learn you're no good for me..."

Jude smiled and nodded. "I really like that…It's a good song.."Haley nodded, glaring at Chris. "I told you!"

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Whatever you say, _**si**__**s.**_"

Brooke and Peyton laughed at them while Jude just simply shook her head at them. Kwest entered the room a minute later and pulled the three girls out, explaining it was time for them to record. Jude looked around the room, looking anywhere but at Chris. They sat in silence for a bit before he finally spoke."How far along are you?"

He spoke softly, not wanting to scare her with a booming voice or force her to talk.Jude looked up at him and smiled slightly. "Almost 5 months…."

He nodded, looking around the room. "Wow….Does the father work here?"

Jude shook her head, looking down at the floor. "N-no…I don't talk to him unless it has to do with the baby…We don't keep in much contact…."

Chris nodded, not wanting to pry unless she was willing to talk. "So you're single?"

She nodded and bit her bottom lip. "Have been for a bout 8 months," she spoke softly stills staring at the floor as if she could burn it up with her eyes.

"Oh,…" He pieced together what she said and began to understand. "I'm sorry…I guess you've really been on your own these last few months, eh?"

She nodded, wanting to shrink into a hole. "I have been and I will be. My daughter ….God, I'll be honest, I don't know what to do…."

He bit his lip, looking at her. He knew her, but she didn't know him. There was no way she could. Tommy never talked about people from his past. "Let me help you."

She looked up at him, her eyes a bit wider open as if he'd just told her that she wasn't actually pregnant. "You don't even know me…"

He shrugged. "You're in trouble,….And you look lost. I have a thing for helping people…so let me help."

She bit her bottom lip, looking at him. Something about him seemed genuine; like he really wanted to help her. "Give me one good reason to let you help me."

He shrugged again. "Because my sister and I just bought a 6 bedroom house, and we're two people short. Because you being on your own this far into a pregnancy is hardly considered safe. **Because** I'm a sensitive soul; I like to help people."

Jude smiled, looking at him. He really did seem like he wanted to help her. And if all else failed, she knew she'd hit it off with the girls. She'd be safer with them than she would be at home alone. "Okay.""Okay?" He asked, just to be sure. After this, there would be no going back."She nodded again. "Okay."

* * *

The end of chapter one. I hope you enjoyed. :) 


	2. Do You See Lights

_Chapter 2_

_Do You See Lights?_

a/n: Okay, just to answer a few questions, yes, it is Chris, Haley, Brooke, and Peyton from the One Tree Hill cast. The three boys may make occasional appearance, but they aren't as important of characters. Haley, Brooke, Peyton, and Chris are going to play a major role in the next few months of Jude's life. Jude will grow closer to Chris, probably more than she should, and Haley (and Brooke, more so than Peyton) will become Jude's rocks.

Jude walked into the place she would call home for the next few months and looked around. As Chris had told her, the place was beautiful. The walls of the sitting room were painted a gorgeous cream, and the furniture was all matching, a beautiful yellow leather. Pretty, not tacky. Jude had fallen in love the firs time she'd seen it. The place was open and spacious; enough room for a baby to crawl around and not get hurt. She found out that Haley had a baby girl of 4 months, who was constantly rolling around the sitting room floor on the plush carpet. Jude couldn't help but want to help take care of her. Annalisa was such a good baby that Jude actually prayed her own daughter could be at least a fraction as good as her.

Across on the left side of the sitting room, there was a walking space that, if followed, led up to the hall and then up the stairs. Past the walking space onto the other side of the room was a large kitchen. If you walked into it, you'd swear a chef made all the meals. Everything was Teflon and stainless steel. The counters were marble and the floor was Victorian stained wood. An island took up the middle of the room, with the sink and counter stove taking over the entire right wall. If you walked straight forward, around past the island, it led into the dining room. Everything centered round the fire-lit chandelier that hung from the ceiling. It had only been used once in the month that the house's 4 residents had lived there. Jude couldn't help but love it.

Chris interrupted her thought process as he entered the dining room and smiled. "Hey."

She smiled looking back at him. "Hey..How are you this fine day?"

He shrugged. "Awake," he joked. "You look tired."

She shrugged. "I am a little, I Guess…I'm just worried about this scheme going off with the press."

He shrugged, almost mirroring her. "It will. We have natural chemistry."

Her face flushed and a smile covered her face as she looked at the floor. No man had ever been that straight forward with her before, and here this 23 year old was doing just that."What is it that makes you want to help me?" She asked softly.

He smiled and lifted her chin, making her look at her. "Everything about you. You're a good person, Jude Harrison. You didn't deserve for this to happen to you, but you're doing everything you can to make the best of it. No matter what's happened, you haven't given up on your baby or the people who love you because you know deep down they need you, and you know you need them too."

She nodded, biting her bottom lip as tears filled her eyes. "Yeah…."

He smiled, tucking a strand of her hair out of the way. "I want to be the man that holds your hand when you give birth to that baby. I want to be the one she cries for in the middle of the night; I want to be the one you have to bring her to calm her down because everything you're doing just isn't working….I've only known you 2 weeks yes, but I've fallen for you like you wouldn't believe."

Tears flitted in Jude's as she looked at him. Everything about him was so genuine and pure, which was a stark contrast from her the way she was. Would she drag him down if she let him in? Her life was already in shambles, and she'd only begun to start being able to pick up the pieces of her life since he had asked her to let him help her. This man was everything she wanted in a husband and more. "Okay…"

He smiled, kissing her lips softly. She kissed him back, resting her hand on his sides as he held her face in his hands, continuing to kiss her. It was slow and sensual; he didn't want to push her faster than she was ready for. Her trust had been severely violated, and she deserved to be treated like an angel. Not like dirt on someone's shoe.When they pulled away from each other, she couldn't help but smile.

Haley and Brooke chose that moment to enter the room, and the smile on Haley's face was wide enough to kill. "My little brother and new best friend. Who would have thought…Oh, wait. Me," She teased, giggling. Jude couldn't help but laugh with her, shaking her head.

Haley managed to get her away from Chris, and 20 minute later they were down town eating Chinese.

Haley sighed, looking at Jude. "So do you like him?"

Jude blushed, looking down at the plate. She knew Haley knew she liked him. She also knew Haley just wanted to hear the words from her mouth for absolute conformation. "Mmm…I do a lot…He's just…everything I've ever dreamed about in a husband…"

Haley smiled, squeezing Jude's hand. "This is so cool!" Jude giggled, shaking her head as she took a bite of food. "Do you really think we can sell it to the press that we were together before now?"

Haley shrugged. "Like he said, you two have natural chemistry, so only time will tell. If the press digs, they might be able to see through your exterior though. They can be harsh sometimes….I remember when we were on tour last year, they tried that we were dating!"

Jude threw a hand over her mouth to stop herself from spitting out her food as she laughed. Haley smiled, shaking her head. "The things people will believe….Its funny,.."

Jude nodded, shaking her head at how hilarious that had sounded to her. Her new-found boyfriend, and best friend, who were siblings,…dating. Ew. But hilarious. She smiled as she looked around, resting a hand on her stomach. Cameras were clicking around them, but for the first time in months, Jude didn't care. Let them take pictures. Let them talk about how pregnant she looked, and whether they thought Chris was the father of her baby. She didn't care. She and Haley wrapped up eating lunch and then Jude headed to the studio, knowing she had a recording session with Chris. She was excited to be there for the first time in months. She'd written a descent song for the first time in what seemed forever, and she couldn't wait to play for him.

As she entered the studio, she smiled, seeing Chris hard at work on one of Next Thursday's single. They were a new electric pop band that had just signed with G Major and seemed to be quickly climbing to stardom. The new season of Instant Star had already started, and Jude had been scheduled to play the finale, but because she would be due around that day, Next Thursday would be playing in her slot instead.

It was then that Chris noticed she'd stepped into the room. He smiled at her and took his headphones off, walking up to her. "Hey."

She smiled at him, walking over to him and kissing him softly. "Hi. How's the mixing coming?"

He shrugged. "Good, I guess….Its more fun when its your music though…"

She giggled and shook her head. "I have this song I want to record…" She handed him a CD, biting her bottom lip. She'd only laid down a guitar track, strictly so she'd have a beat to follow while she was recording the vocals.

He looked up at her and nodded, smiling."Alright. Lets lay it down and then we can mix it and send it off to Darius. He wants to ship out a single to all the radio stations tomorrow…."

Jude smiled and nodded, walking into the soundbooth. She slipped on her headphones, smiling at Chris as she waited for him to give her the go ahead. The music began to flow through the headphones and she looked briefly down at her journal on the music stand before she began to sing softly.

"Can I ask you a question please  
Promise you won't laugh at me  
Honestly I'm standing here  
Afraid I'll be betrayed.  
As twisted as it seems, I only fear love when it's in my dreams  
So let the morning light come in and let the darkness fade away

Can you turn my black roses red?  
Can you turn my black roses red?

Drowning in my loneliness  
How long must I hold my breath  
So much emptiness inside I could fill the deepest sea  
I reach to the sky as the moon looks on  
One last year has come and gonne  
It's time to let your love rain down on me

Can you turn my black roses red?  
Can you turn my black roses red?  
Can you turn my black roses red?  
Can you turn my black roses red?  
Cuz  
I'm feelin like I'll blame it on love  
I'm feelin like I'll blame it on love  
I'm feelin like I'll blame it on love  
I'm feelin like I'll blame it on love  
I'm feelin like I'll blame it on love  
I'm feelin like I'll blame it on love  
I'm feelin like I'll blame it on love

Can you turn my black roses red?  
Can you turn my black roses red?  
Can you turn my black roses red?  
Can you turn my black roses red?  
Cuz I'm feelin like I'll blame in on love  
I'm feeling like I'll blame it on love (until fades)"

As the song came to a close, she sighed softly, lifting the headphones off her ears. That song had come from the heart. Tommy had hurt her badly when he'd left, and she'd pretty much lost her ability to trust when Brendan had raped her. Now that she'd met Chris, things seemed to have turned around a lot, in such a short amount of time. She really cared for him, and he seemed to care just as much. He was willing to do anything for her when he barely knew more than what the media said about her. She sighed softly and finally worked up the courage to exit the studio. She walked over to him and smiled. He smiled back at her and stood up, taking her hands in his. She looked down, but he lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I would love to turn your black roses red."

She looked up at him and smiled before he kissed her lips softly, running the back of his fingers up and down against her arms. She melted into him, lifting her arms to wrap them around his neck. He held her closely kissing her with just as much passion as he held her sides. After a few minutes, she pulled away and rested her forehead against his. "Before you showed up…everything sucked major…I thought I'd lost my music forever. I was waiting for Darius to kick me out."

Chris shook his head, caressing her cheek. "That'd never happen. You're too amazing of an artist, and you write way too many beautiful songs. If a label were ever to get rid of you, it'd be their biggest regret…"

She nodded, biting her bottom lip. "If you said that to me a month ago, I would have seriously doubted you were being truthful."

He shook his head, smiling at her. "Its true. So very true. You deserve the best, Jude Harrison. You deserve to be happy and to find love that you'll never lose. You've been through enough in the last few months."

She smiled, looking to the floor. "Well…I'm gonna head home. Bring the single with you when its done?"

He nodded and kissed her forehead. "I'll be there in a few hours when its done…"

She smiled and nodded, walking out of the building. She didn't stop anywhere as she made her way home. She was so drained just from recording that song. She'd laid her heart on the line and for once it hadn't been handed back to her in pieces. As she entered the house, she set her things down near the door and then made her way up to her room. On the other side of the house, she could faintly hear Haley playing a song on her guitar, and if she listened really hard, she was sure she'd hear Peyton's charcoal pencil scraping against a piece of paper. Finally, with the two sounds mixed, she drifted off to sleep…

* * *

She was awoken with a light shake to the shoulder, and looked up to see Chris standing next to her. She smiled and sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes. As she looked outside, she saw the sun going down. She gave him a sheepish smile and ran a hand through her hair. "What'd Darius think of the song?" 

Chris smiled. "He loved it. He's sending it out to the radio stations tomorrow morning to play. He said he thinks they're gonna love it."

Jude smiled and sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Good. I'm glad."He smiled and looked down at her, kissing the top of her head softly. "Do you want me to play it?"

She nodded and settled back against the bed with her legs in a figure four while her hands rested comfortably on her stomach. He smiled and popped the CD into her 5 disc player. Jude closed her eyes as she listened to it play. A small smile spread across her lips as she listened to it. It sounded just how she'd heard it in her head when she'd laid down the guitar track earlier that day in the home studio. As the song finished out, she stood and hugged him, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you, so much."

He smiled and nodded. "It was my pleasure, really. I was happy to do it."

She smiled and sighed, looking at him. "You do too much for me. I don't deserve it."

He shook his head, caressing her cheek. "Yes you do. So much."She smiled and shook her head, not wanting to argue the situation. "So…."

He smiled and shook his head, getting up and walking out of the room."HEY!" She jumped up, chasing after him…

The next day flew by rather quickly, and by 4 PM, when Jude' song was due to drop on the radio, everyone was drained. They were all settled in hospitality, awaiting the MC to announce it. Everyone chatted quietly until they heard her name."And Jude Harrison's got quite the scandal in her life right now. Word on the street is that she's dating her producer. No, not heart throb, Tom Quincy. Do you guys remember that big tour that went through the country last year. Chris Keller headlined it, and now he's producing Jude's 3rd album; and apparently that's not the only thing he's produced with her. Jude is 5 months pregnant, and Chris is rumoured to be the father. Only time will tell if it's the truth. In the mean time, they **are** making quite the music together. This new one is called Black Roses Red, and its by Jude Harrison. Enjoy."

Jude and Haley giggled softly over what the MC had said while everyone else listened along to the song.

2000 miles away, Tommy Quincy stood in the kitchen of his sister's home, listening to the same song.The sound of that name brought anger across his face. It was time to go home. Now.

* * *

Uh...ohhhh...Tommy drama to come in the next chapter:) Look out for it 


	3. Waking Up To See That Everything Is Okay

_Chapter 3_

_Waking Up To See That Everything Is Okay_

Tommy walked into The Paridigm, settling his tote bag on the floor. He looked around the coffee house, seeing the small amount of people that were actually there. It was going on 7 PM, so he didn't reallly expect that so many people would be there, but it was nice to be back home. A waitress walked up to him and he slipped a small smile on, pulling his earpods out. "Just a black coffee and chocolate muffin to start, please."

The waitress nodded and smiled, writing down his order as she walked away. Tommy pulled his journal out, scribbling down a few things onto the page of the song he was currently working on. It had been pegging at him for days, ever since he'd heard the song on the radio. It pulled for him at the seams, and he hated it.

The bell on the door jingled as someone else entered the cafe. Tommy hummed softly to himself as he continued to write song.

"Don't take her smile away from me She's broken and I'm far away Won't you cure my tragedy Won't you cure my tragedy If you make the world a stage for me Then I hope that you can hear me scream..."

The person who had previously entered the building, took a seat in front of Tommy and he looked up, momentarily stopping the scribbling in his journal. Tommy sighed softly and made a slight nod to the younger man before quickly scribbling one more thing down in his journal before he closed it and shoved it into his bag. The waitress approached them and smiled, setting down Tommy's coffee and muffin. She turned to the blond man with a slight smile. "Can I get you anything?"

"No thank you," he responded softly, giving her light smile. She nodded and walked away, leaving the two boys to talk.

Tommy ran a hand through his hair, looking his little brother in the eye for the first time since he'd arrived. "You know I've got about a thousand reasons to hate you right now..." He looked at Chris, almost glowering at him with hate. He'd never been this angry with one person before

Chris nodded, not wanting to fuel Tommy's anger anymore than he knew his older brother already was. "Look Tom," he started, only for Tommy to cut him off.

"I went home, Chris! I went home because YOUR daughter was dying of cancer! And I come back, with YOUR daughter, to find out you're dating MY girl?! What kind of crap is that?" He growled, though it was in a low voice as to not get them noticed. Chris seemed to shrink away, not really wanting to argue. Tommy may have been his twin, but it was definite that they were fraternal, considering Tommy liked to handle situations with his fists, while Chris liked to talk things out. He knew he was teetering on the edge of Tommy's last nerve and likely to get his ass kicked if he didn't explain soon.

"Look man, she was drowning on her own! She was home alone with no place to go, no one to keep her safe. She was raped, dude! Haley said that you were worried about her when you heard all of her calls, and thats when we decided to settle up here. I didn't expect---"

"Oh, what? You didn't exect to not understand why I cared for her so much? You didn't expect that you'd think she was beautiful? That she came with a THOUSAND different problems but you always wanted to help because you knew at heart, she was the most beautiful, selfless person you'd ever know?" Tommy spoke angrily, but it was in a softness as he was speaking about the love of his life. The one girl he could never stop caring for.

Chris groaned, annoyed. "Look, I never expected to fall for her. The way you talked about her religiously, I never expected her to even by my type because we're such opposites with girls. I never planned any of it, Tommy. No matter what you believe."

Tommy seethed at his little brother as if he were he devil himself. "Yeah. Sure, Chris. Tell me, Does Jude know about Laila? How you ditched going home to take care of your daughter for TOUR, while she had cancer!? Did you tell her that? Or how about that because of you, she's been raped and is 5 months pregnant? Did you tell her that? Because I know what's happened to her. Darius has fully clued me in, and let me tell you, there's no way you're going to get away with this without her knowing the truth."

Chris looked down at the table, shaking his head. "Tom, you had to know that it was for the best when I didn't go ho-"

"It was for the best? How the hell can you say it was for the best!? She could have DIED, Chris! Laila could have died, and you wouldn't even have been there. You couldn't have said you were there for her, that you held her hand when she was in so much pain from chemotherapy. So when i go back to the hotel tonight, I might as well just take her home...I mean I guess I know how much she matters to you. You petitioned Mally for custody, and then you weren't even there when your daughter needed you most. I had to drop everything I was doing and go FOR you. How fair is that?"

Chris groaned, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument. Tommy was very right with his accusations, and Chris would be stupid to even try and fight his brother ont he subject. He was unfair to have left his daughter hanging when she needed him most, and Tommy and Jude got caught in the line of fire because of it.

Suddenly it hit Tommy as he expressions on Chris's face changed from one to another over the next ten seconds. He forced out a laugh and shook his head. "Oh, my god...You're doing it out guilt. You're dating her because you feel guilty!! I should have known!"

Chris glared up at Tommy, leaning forward a little on the table. "Would you keep your voice down!? People could hear you! Gosh!"

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Eventually you'll run again. And I'll have to pick up the pieces. Like I did this time...But this time, I'm the one walking out...I have to take YOUR daughter home for a bone marrow transplant...I'll be back in about a month..."

With that, Tommy stood and placed a few bills on the table, grabbing his coffee and muffin. "Unless, that is. You're ready to man up and take care of your own kid."

Chris stared at the floor for a bit, not answering his brother. Tommy laughed forcefully and shook his head. "I'm leaving. Now."

With that, he slipped his beanie back on his head and walked out of the cafe without a second thought.

The drive back to the hotel was quick, and he relieved Kwest of his baby-sitting duties, though Kwest claimed he didn't mind, he was glad to know that Laila would be okay. Tommy settled in the rocking chair next to the bed as Kwest flipped the TV off.

"So what did he say?" Kwest asked softly, wondering why the hell Chris could do something so cruel to his own daughter.

"He said that he's sorry. Oh, and that he's dating Jude out of guilt. Guilt. Can you believe that man? He knew how I felt about her, and he went after he anyway!" Tommy snapped, something inside of him eradically irrated. He was ripping apart at the seams.

"Tom, man, breathe..." Kwest tried to reason with him, not wanting his best friend to go haywire on him.

Tommy groaned and ran a hand through his hair, clenching the arm of the chair. "I'm sorry, he just...gets to me. Makes me want to rip my hair out, ya know. Its eradicating."

Kwest nodded. "I know man. I know its not fair too. You got the shitty end of the deal and he's acting like its not his fault."

Tommy nodded, rolling his eyes. "You got that right." He looked out the glass doors of the balcony and bit the inside of his cheek. "This isn't right or fair. Its like being stomped on over and over like-"

Kwest nodded. "I know man...I know. I'm just glad they never took it further..."

Tommy nodded. "God you have no idea how glad I am that they didn't either. Did you see Haley when she got out of the hospital?!" He glowered a bit a the memory plagued him and he thought of his little sister. They'd only ever hurt her once, but still. It was rape.

Kwest nodded, biting his bottom lip. He'd always had a soft spot for Haley, but when he'd found out what happened to her, he'd wanted to kill anything and everything in sight.

Tommy sighed and rested his head in his hands, shaking his head. "There's got to be a way to fix this. There just has to..."


	4. Its Not Over Tonight

_Chapter 4_

_Its Not Over Tonight_

Jude looked around the house, yawning as she did. Chris should have been back hours ago. He'd called her a few hours ago to tell her that he had to stop and meet someone, but that he'd be there within the next 2 hours. That had been almost 3 hours ago and it was going on 11 PM. Haley was out with her husband who was in town and Brooke had gone out with her boyfriend as well. Peyton had been asleep since she'd gotten home, leaving Jude who, at the time that Chris had called, had been curled up on the couch with a carton of ice cream, flipping through a photo album from back when Tommy had been around.

The door bell ringing brought Jude out of her thoughts, and she looked around, seeing that the only light on was down the hall where she could hear Haley playing something. She let out a soft sigh and walked to the door, singing Black Roses Red as she did.

"_Can I ask you a question please?Promise you won't laugh at me_

_Honestly I'm standing here_

_Afraid I'll be betrayed…"_

Her words faded out as she opened the door, only to be met with the blue eyes that plagued her every dream. Her first thought screamed to kiss him, the second to slap him, and then kiss him. Too many thoughts hit her at once that she didn't even hear when Haley had entered the room, asking who was at the door.

"Tommy! I thought you weren't coming home for another month!" Haley practically jumped in her brothers arms, hugging him with a force only the closest of siblings shared. Jude stared at the two with a blank expression, unable to gather words to ask what had just happened. She watched mutely for another few moments as Haley continued to greet Tommy and then pulled him into the house.

"Jude? Jude, you okay? Jude?" Haley finally pulled her from her confused reverie and she looked to Tommy, trying to determine what she was supposed to ask first, but before she could, Tommy answered Haley.

"I'm going back home tomorrow. I just had an **important conversation with another family member**," he replied, enunciating the words that were intended to explain why he was in town. Haley nodded, knowing what Tommy was talking about. "I have to take Laila back home for surgery, but we'll be back next month for good. Maybe then someone can man up enough to take care of his daughter." Tommy mumbled the last sentence under his breath as he stared at the floor, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Jude finally managed to gather something to say, her voice wavering as she did. "You…You're related?"Haley nodded, pulling Tommy and Jude into the main sitting room. "Tommy and Chris are fraternal twins. Tommy's 5 minutes older."Jude nodded, but the information only fuelled her growing anger as she realized just how much she didn't know about the people she was living with. Chris of all people at least, should have known about all of this. He had to, and he should have told her.

Tommy turned to Haley, pulling on the ends of the hat he'd been wearing. "I have to get going in a few minutes. I just wanted to check in on you after everything that happened when you were at home-"Haley nodded, touching Tommy's arm in a comforting gesture. "I'm fine. We worry more about Jude here."Tommy looked down at his sister with a questioning look. He looked over at Jude, examining the look on her face for a moment before he spoke again. "Brendan Deppies?"Jude's eyes widened at the sound of his name, struggling to hold to the small form of reality she actually survived in. "God don't say that name."Tommy's face flared fire red and his fists and jaw clenched simultaneously. Haley watched this change in her brother's expression and tried to calm him, though it was useless, seeing how incredibly pissed he was. "Breathe-"

Tommy gave Haley a glare that told her to shut up. His anger was through the roof with this guy, and there was truly only really on person to blame because of it. Christopher Keller Quincy deserved to be buried in the ground somewhere under 6 feet of dirt.

Jude's eyes shot between the two, more lost than she'd ever been. Tommy shook his head in fuming anger, ready to scream. "I'm gonna kill him, Haley. I swear if it's the last thing I do, I'll kill him."Jude screamed a high-pitched scream, catching both Tommy and Haley's attention as they looked at her. She smiled when she saw that she had their attention. "Alrighty then. What the hell is Chris not telling me?"

Tommy shook his head, looking down at his watch. "Jude, I would love to explain right now, but I have prior commitments, and my flight leaves in two hours. I ca-"Before he could speak another word, her hand had made its own path across his cheek, drawing blood as it did. Tommy's hand flew to his cheek, looking at her with pure ache and confusion covering his features. Tears brimmed Jude's eyelids, threatening to fall, though he wasn't sure if they were out of anger or because she regretted what she'd just done.

"**You! **You left for five months, Tommy! And you didn't call, you didn't write, you didn't even TRY to get in touch with me! And so you decide because you turn up on my doorstep five months later, that you're going to shoot my boyfriends' reputation all to hell because you're a little pissed off!? No."Tommy watched her, becoming increasingly angered as she yelled at him. He stepped back from her, walking away from a minute before he walked back and stood in front of her, fists clenched tightly together. "Chris is friends with Brendan. If it weren't for the fact that Brendan was in jail while Haley and Chris moved here, Haley could be dead now, Jude! The reason I've been **gone!? **Chris's five year old daugher has cancer, and when he said that he couldn't go home to care for her, I had to!! So don't think that I don't have every intention of being here for you and your baby." His last sentence came softer than the rest as he stared into her eyes, almost waiting for her to tell him off. Jude swallowed hard at what he was telling her, and it couldn't have made anything worse if Chris had chosen that moment to walk in the door. Fortunately he hadn't, leaving the three to sit and ponder where the hell he was, and why he had twisted such big lies.

Jude walked away from them and Tommy shook his head, dropping his bag and following her, grabbing her and pulling her to his chest. She tried to fight him, beating her tiny fists into his chest and shoulders, telling him to let her go, but he refused, holding her to him until she finally broke down. "I hate you! You left me!""Shhh. Just let it out…" He rubbed her hair down, kissing her head and rocking her back and forth. Haley walked over to them, rubbing Jude's back. She stood almost dumbfounded, not sure what she could say to make her best friend feel any better.

Tommy winced, feeling her sob against him as months of tears spilled over, and he rocked her gently, doing anything to calm her down. "C'mon, girl. You know I can't handle it when you're vulnerable. It kills me."She swallowed hard, and her sobs slowed before she pulled away from him. "I umm…I need to play you something at least, before you go. You owe me 5 minutes…"Tommy nodded, wiping her tears away and gently kissing her lips. "Show me away."Jude nodded and turned around, walking towards the studio with Tommy and Haley following in tow. She pushed the door open and walked over to the keyboard, sitting down on the bench in front of it. Haley sat down on the couch with Tommy, watching Jude as she began to play. Haley immediately recognized the melody and stopped her."I thought…" Her words trailed off, watching as Jude stopped playing.

"No. It changed as I wrote it, and ah… I lied. I do that pretty well, it seems. Like White Lines…" Her eyes briefly caught Tommy's before she turned back to the piano.

"_So that was…?" Tommy asked inquisitively. He smiled gently, but his eyes were curious, wondering more who the song was about than it's name._

"_White Lines…I wrote it the other night. About ah…" She paused, looking to the floor. She couldn't look him in the eye and lie. "Jamie."Tommy nodded, swallowing hard, but silent. He took in a deep breath and turned away, heading for his office. "We'll ah, we'll consider it for your album. Its okay. Needs work," he lied._

"_Yeah. We'll see," she lied. She could never record this song in front of him. Not in a million years. At least, not if their feelings were laid out cleanly across the table. There would be no way._

Tommy cleared his throat and walked over to her, sitting down at the bench and looking at the sheet music he lifted Jude's chin and she nodded before he began to play. Jude kept her eyes on him as she began to sing, starting softly.

"**Snow falls on the city**

**White on white**

**It's the colour of hope**

**On an unforgiving night…"**Both seemed to be captivated immediately by the memory of her sixteenth birthday as she continued to sing.

"**You kissed me into ruins**

**Sin on sin**

**Now I've gotta love your love letters**

**Written on my skin**

**I can't tell the stars**

**From the downtown lights…"**Tommy looked up at her as he played the beginning of the chorus, seeing tears brimming her eyelids again. It was obvious that this song took more out of her than it seemed on paper.

"**If I said I was truly over you**

**My heart would say amen**

**But I'd give in **

**To the cold caress of 2 AM**

**If I admit I can't get used to this**

**Will my heart break againAs I fall into the waiting **

**Arms of 2 AM.."**One tear fell, and then another as Chris approached the door and she continued to sing softly, holding her composure.

"**Someone's scratching music **

**Through the walls**

**Sirens weaving through the streetsI must've missed your callI'm gathering up these nights**

**Black on black**

**I know your voice like its my own**

**And it makes my heart go slack**

**I can't tell the stars**

**From the downtown lights…"**Once again, Tommy's eyes caught hers, this time with their tears mirroring each other, like staring through a piece of glass that separated them by years and millions of miles, rather than several inches.

"**If I said I was truly over you**

**My heart would say amen**

**But I'd give in **

**To the cold caress of 2 AM**

**If I admit I can't get used to this**

**Will my heart break again**

**As I fall into the waiting **

**Arms of 2 AM…"**

Their eyes caught each others, tears pouring down as her voice came hard with conviction. He could see in her eyes that she was moments away from breaking down as she made her way through the bridge.

"**Ouuuu, ohm**

**Ohhh, **

**Ohh, ahhh**

**Ohh, ouuu**

**If I said I was truly over you**

**My heart would say amenBut I'd give in to the cold caress of 2 AM**

**If I admit I can't get used to this…Will my hear break again**

**As I fall into the waiting**

**Arms of 2 AM…**

**Of 2 AM…"**

Her voice faded out and the final notes drifted into the air as the song finished, leaving the room silent, except for the occasional sniffs that came from Jude or Tommy. After a few minutes, she swallowed and looked up at him, wiping her tears.

"That was all. I just wanted you to know…"He nodded, running his now sweaty palms over his jeans, and then he wiped her cheeks as if there were still tears there. He kissed her forehead and her hands clamped onto his wrists, holding them where his hands held the sides of her head. Tears began to fall again as he held her head to his, breathing in her scent.

"Why do you have to leave," she sobbed. "Stay. Please, Tommy, just stay. Just stop leaving. Please." Her words came out begging, far from what she had hoped them to sound like. She'd hoped to make it sound more like an order, but now she'd get on her knees if that's what it took. Anything to get him to stay.

"I can't, girl," he whispered softly. She knew he would say that; Not because he didn't want to. Because, for once, there was someone who needed him more. An innocent kid who needed him to care for her so that she'd be able to see the light of day for many years to come. "You know I want to."Jude nodded, letting go of him. He released her and looked her in the eyes, smiling sadly. "I'll be back. I promise. Before you know it, I'll be pounding down the door. You and your girl have nothing to worry about."

Jude smiled sadly, hugging him tightly. She forced herself to stop crying, needing to hold the smell of him in.

Tommy pulled away from her and couldn't help but smile at the look on her face. He slipped of his jacket and then unzipped his sweater and handed it to her before pulling his jacket back on. "Now I really have to go."Jude nodded and turned around, finally seeing Chris in the room. She stood and walked past him, leaving the Quincy siblings to argue, or whatever else they decided to do.

She didn't realize it until she was inside her room that Haley had been following her and she nearly shut her door in Haley's face in the process. She followed her to her bed, sitting down at the foot of it while Jude got situated under the blankets in the flannel pajama pants and light maternity tank top she was wearing.

"Why didn't you tell me about Tommy, Jude? I would have understood. Every time I talked to him, all he talked about was you.."Jude shrugged as it suddenly phased her that Tommy had mentioned at several points that he had a twin named Chris and a younger sister named Haley. She just had never put two and two together. "I guess I never really realized you were **his **Chris and Haley. I figured you were new in town."Haley shook her head, scooting up on the bed and laying down next to Jude. "Chris gets us in a lot of trouble…namely trouble that's worse for people around him than it is him…But this…I can't believe he'd do this to Tom. After everything Tommy's done for him.."

Jude sighed and sat up, grabbing a notebook. "Sorry, you just made me strangely inspired. Just a moment."She scribbled down a few lyrics into the notebook and then set it on the bed before scooting off of it. "I'm really hungry. Wanna go get some dinner?"Haley nodded, standing up. "I'll go change and then we can go."Jude nodded, pulling on her shoes before looking at Haley. "I'll meet you downstairs."They both walked out of the room, Jude heading for the stairs, and Haley, for her bedroom, leaving the song journal lying open on her bed, with the lyrics in full view.

_Hey there, are you backing up_

_No so long, wish you never left,_

_Planning your escape,_

_I held he gate, didn't want to make you late,_

_Now you're here you make me wonder,_

_What rock have I been under…._


End file.
